Bear Grylls

Bear Grylls has become known around the world as one of the most recognised faces of survival and outdoor adventure. His journey to this acclaim started in the UK on the Isle of Wight, where his late father taught him to climb and sail. Trained from a young age in martial arts, Bear went on to spend three years as a soldier in the British Special Forces, serving with 21 SAS. It was here that he perfected many of the skills that his fans all over the world enjoy watching him pit against mother-nature.

Despite a free-fall parachuting accident in Africa, where he broke his back in three places, and after enduring months in military rehabilitation, Bear went on to become one of the youngest ever climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest, which he achieved on May 26th, 1998, at only 23 years old. The actual ascent of Everest took ninety days enduring extreme weather, two months of limited sleep and running out of oxygen in the upper regions of the ‘death zone’ (above 26,000 feet).

Bear joins a small elite number of British climbers to have successfully completed climbing Everest and return alive. Every year the death toll on Mount Everest rises, for every six mountaineers who make it to the top, one will die. On the way down from his first reconnaissance climb, Bear cheated death navigating the perilous Khumbu Icefall, the ice cracked and he fell into a crevasse that was 1,000 feet deep, was knocked unconscious and had it not been for the tenacity of his team mates he would not be alive today.

In August 2003, Bear led the first crew to cross the Atlantic via the Arctic Circle in an open rigid inflatable boat, in aid of The Prince’s Trust. This expedition was the subject of ‘Facing The Frozen Ocean’ which was published in 2004.

Bear went on to star in the Channel 4 series: Escape to the Legion and seven series of the Discovery Channel’s Emmy nominated TV show Man Vs Wild and Born Survivor, which has become one of the most watched shows on the planet, reaching an estimated 1.2 billion viewers.Off-screen, Bear Grylls has led record-breaking expeditions, from Antarctica to the Arctic, which in turn have raised over $2.5 million for children around the world. In recognition for his expertise and service, Bear was appointed as the youngest ever Chief Scout to over half a million scouts in the UK, was awarded an honorary commission as a Lieutenant-Commander in the Royal Navy and as a Lieutenant-Colonel in the notoriously tough Royal Marines Commandos.

He has authored 15 books, including the No 1 Bestseller: Mud Sweat & Tears which was voted the most influential book in China for 2012. Other titles include: Your Life; Train For It, True Grit, A Survival Guide For Life, Born Survivor, Living Wild, Great Outdoor Adventures, Facing Up, Facing the Frozen Ocean, To My Sons and seven children’s fiction novels titled Mission: Survival.